a. Field of the Invention
The disclosed technique relates to guidewires, in general, and to methods and systems for including electronic components in guidewires and for making guidewires more flexible, in particular.
b. Background Art
Guidewires are employed in noninvasive operations to enable the physician to navigate to a desired location within the lumen of the body of the patient, and then insert the catheter to the desired location with the aid of the guidewire. Such guidewires are known in the art. One type of guidewire includes a sensor at the tip thereof, which is connected to an electronic unit, with a pair of wires which pass through a lumen within the guidewire. The guidewire includes a coil in front of the sensor to enable maneuverability. Another type of guidewire includes a sensor at the tip thereof, which is connected to the electronic unit with a pair of wires which pass through the lumen within the guidewire. This guidewire is devoid of a flexible element to provide maneuverability.
U.S. Pat. No. Re. 35,648 issued to Tenerz et al., and entitled “Sensor Guide Construction and Use Thereof”, is directed to a guidewire which includes a thin outer tube, an arched tip, a radiopaque coil, a solid metal wire, a sensor element, and a signal transmitting cable. The radiopaque coil is welded to the arched tip. The solid metal wire is formed like a thin conical tip, and it is located within the arched tip and the radiopaque coil. The solid metal wire successively tapers toward the arched tip. At the point where the solid metal wire joins the radiopaque coil, the thin outer tube commences. The signal transmitting cable extends from the sensor element to an electronic unit through an air channel within the thin outer tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,986 issued to Wallace, and entitled “Disposable Apparatus for Monitoring Intrauterine Pressure and Fetal Heart Rate”, is directed to an apparatus to monitor the fetal condition during labor and childbirth. The apparatus includes a cable, a pressure transducer, a plug, and a pair of wires. The pressure transducer is located within the leading edge of the cable. The plug is located at a proximal end of the cable. The signals from the pressure transducer are conveyed to the plug by way of the pair of wires, which pass through a vent channel within the cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,489 issued to Jacobsen et al and entitled “Guidwire System”, is directed to a catheter guidewire which includes an elongate solid body. Around this elongated solid body, a catheter is guided toward a target location in the vasculature system of a body. The elongate body includes a proximal end and a distal end, with the distal end being curved. Cuts are formed by either saw-cutting, laser cutting or etching at spaced-apart locations along the length of the body, thereby increasing the lateral flexibility of the guidewire. Integral beams are also formed within the body to maintain its torsional strength. The relative location and size of cuts and beams may be selectively adjusted, thereby determining the direction and degree of flexure, and the change in torsional stiffness relative to flexibility.